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Last of the Artemis Quotes

All quotes taken from Chapter 9 and Parting Thoughts of ARTEMIS THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT IN EVERYWOMAN by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

“Archetypes are patterns, innate ways of being and responding – some more instinctual than others – that are in the collective unconscious.”

“This life we have, with its twists and turns, is our story to shape and find meaning in. Enthusiasm and vitality are signs that we are living the life we were meant to live or are being who we were meant to be.”

“This is not logical (logos) knowledge; this gnosis – intuitively felt knowledge. When you are doing soul-satisfying or heart-centered work, you know it; when you have a soul or heart connection with another person, you know it.”

“Trust that we know when a path is right for us grows as we travel it, because we come to love what we are doing and who we are becoming.”

“When we are at a crossroad and must decide which direction to take, or are in a transition or liminal phase where there are no defining landmarks, we are in migration.”

“I think that humankind is on an evolutionary journey, which is our migration. And each of us participates in where we are going.”

“Each of us thinks of ourselves as a separate entity and yet, as members of humanity, we are traveling together with our species. Our individual psyches echo them in the collective – egalitarian and patriarchal, expansive and regressive, fearful and loving.”

“Those with an active Artemis archetype come into the world with self-determination, a strong will, and the ability to focus. This likely also comes with a sense of fairness, an egalitarian attitude, and a protective emotional response toward weaker others who can’t protect themselves.”

“Joy emerges with freedom because, when there is freedom to be creative and expressive, there is joy.”

“Fear inhibits laughter, spontaneity, and creativity; it squelches the inner child and is not concerned about what is best for children, the country, or the planet. Where power and intimidation rule, paranoia is adaptive.”

“Wherever violence is a reality or power has the last work, joy is missing. In contrast, when you are free to be yourself, joy is a significant element in your life.”

“These are moments of achieving or creating something that has internal value. It doesn’t matter if there is anyone else to see what she has done, or anyone who understands the big smile on her face. There is inner joy at having done it. Appreciation from others, applause, rewards – these are secondary satisfactions that may come later.”

“When perseverance and focus are built-in traits, an Atalanta/Artemis is hard to distract when she’s intent on what she is absorbed in doing, or when she has a strong feelings – which are likely to be about limits on her autonomy or something she protests is not fair! It seems that such a girl comes into the world ready to declare her sovereignty – a word usually applied to a nation that means autonomy, independence, liberty, self-determination, self-governance, and freedom.”

“In short, there is no family constellation that creates daughters with indomintable spirit. It is an archetypal attribute that includes being ‘one-in-herself.’ ”

” ‘Procrustean’ has come to mean conformity to expectations which are often arbitrary … Encountering Procrustes on the ‘road to Athens’ is thus a story about social acceptability, gender expectations, and conformity – the many hoops we must jump through to impress others … it is what shapes what others see about us and determines how they judge us. In order to be accepted, we suppress qualities of which family, religion, society, peers, potential mates, or spouses disapprove in order to fit their expectations.”

“Midlife crises are often initiated from Procrustean ‘amputations’ – the suppressed and denied parts of our personality that were unacceptable.”

“Joseph Campbell said that the point is to find and live your personal myth. When asked how to do this, he answered with a question: ‘What give our life a sense of harmony and bliss?’ ”

“An assignment is something you volunteer for. It’s something that feels as if it has your name on it. Something that asks questions only you can answer.”

“It is time to recognize that the alpha males on top of pyramids of institutional, political, and corporate power and wealth are not best-suited to make decisions for humanity and the planet.”

“Collaborative agreements, the ability to compromise, the instinct to care for those who are vulnerable, an awareness of the ego needs of powerful men, and the ability to read emotional cues are skills that women, as a gender, have.”

“As W.H. Murray, who headed the Scottish Himalayan Expedition, said: ‘The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision.’ I refer to ‘Providence’ as synchronicity.”

“Her memoir tells of being reunited with her body, and how this united her with the body of the world.”

“… heeding a principle that Gloria Steinem has expressed many times … ‘Remember: the end doesn’t justify the means; the means are the ends. If we want dancing and laughter and friendship and kindness in the future, we must have dancing and laughter and friendship and kindness along the way. That is the small and the big of it.’ ”

“Similarly, two powerful forces act upon us whether we know it or not – the expectations of family and culture (stereotypes) and the archetypes that are active in us.”

“Many people need to remember that they were brave children. So many had to have courage to face real and imagined fears. Children feel afraid and to what is expected of them just the same. By forgetting these times, they also forget the brave children they had to be.”

“Without having a conceptual understanding of it, children who survive become experts at reading body language, moods, and other signs of what could come next, and also of certain times of the day and certain places. They learn not to show their feelings when it isn’t safe to do so; they can and do displace or dissociate from them.”

“Children feel humiliated when they are treated badly or neglected by adults. They take on the shame adults deserve for what they do or don’t do or should do.”

“Children are born good; they want to console or help another crying child or adult. They have an innate sense of justice. So, when they are treated badly or cruelly or neglectfully, they seem to assume they must deserve it.”

“When you are able to see your childhood and your parents with clarity and compassion, this may restore a sense of worth and give you something of great value: pride in who you are and in our lineage, as well as a new appreciation for the child you were and for your parents.”

“Perhaps you may become a fair witness for yourself – someone who now looks back on those periods of your life when you were shamed or behaved badly, and reappraises them from the perspective of an observing, compassionate, and forgiving adult. You also have an opportunity to appreciate that the child you were had to be brave.”

“The child who comes into the world with qualities of Artemis can turn to nature and receive much more than temporary shelter from the emotions of others or a place to cry out of sight. It may also have been a place to be curious and happy, to experience awe and wonder. An adult who is moved by nature’s beauty and power has received this as a legacy from an Artemis child in her past. The child who is ‘under the protection of Artemis’ keeps her connection to wonder, hope, and courage as she becomes the woman she was meant to be.”

“The older and wiser version of Artemis is Hecate, the goddess of the waning moon and goddess of the crossroad. It is her counsel that I heed when deciding what I do, now. Is this an old habit – like a Pavlovian response? Or is there vitality and passion in my psyche for this?”

“Nobody gets through childhood scot-free.”

“If you recognize Artemis qualities in yourself, chances are that you were a courageous child who probably took some physical risks, did a lot of exploration on your own, and pretended you weren’t afraid of or affected by rejection. You persevered; you were called stubborn but would not give up what you believed, although you may have learned to keep quiet about it. You hated seeing defenseless children picked on, or grownups who played favorites or were mean or lied. You may have gotten into trouble for speaking up; you may still be ashamed of yourself for not doing so. The child that you were then still lives in you as your inner child. That child may have carried you through some of the most difficult years of your life, camouflaged whatever you wanted to hide, and managed to hold her head up.”

“Now, from an adult perspective, you may be able to look back and see yourself, the situation, and the people in a different light. It is possible to lift a burden that goes back to childhood and transform it. It is possible to be a caring adult to your inner child or to someone else’s. It is possible for you to forgive and not dwell on what happened that shouldn’t have. It is possible that you are becoming a compassionate and wise person.”

“While every woman, in the course of a lifetime, will have her share of hard times, you may be among the more fortunate or even the most fortunate.”

“When gratitude replaces entitlement, this is soul growth.”

“… men and women should have equal opportunities and responsibilities to shape decisions that matter.”

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Just Thinking …

“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” ― Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography

“Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.” – Simone de Beauvoir

“Naive as it may sound, inoculating society against the antisocial requires, at bottom, persuading people of what is palpably true: that society has value and everyone should contribute.” – Bruce Cannon Gibney, Author